but I fear that he perished with the rest of those on board, whom we
never saw again.

"'The coast where we landed appeared to be uninhabited, and the poor
lady, being unable to walk far, after much suffering of mind and body,
gave birth to this child under a tree in the forest. I have just left
her, in the hope of finding some village where I may obtain
assistance; and by her wish I have brought the child with me, since
she is incapable of taking care of it.'

"The woman had hardly finished speaking when a wild elephant, breaking
through the bushes, came suddenly upon us, and she was so frightened
that she let the child fall, and ran away.

"I hid myself behind a tree, and saw the elephant take up the child
with his trunk, as if about to put it into its mouth. At that moment
he was attacked by a lion, and let the child fall. When the two beasts
had moved from the spot, I came from my hiding-place just in time to
see the child taken up by a monkey, who ran up a high tree. Presently
the beast let the child drop, and as it fell on a leafy branch, I took
it up uninjured by the fall, or the other rough treatment which it had
received.

"After searching for the woman some time in vain, I took the child to
my master, the great muni Vâmadeva, and I have now brought it to you
by his command."

The king, astonished at the preservation of the child under such
adverse circumstances, and hoping that Ratnodbhava might have escaped
from the shipwreck, sent for Susruta to take charge of his brother's